By Nicki Jhabvala, Matt Schneidman, Saad Yousuf and Matt Moret
The Green Bay Packers defense all but shut down the Washington Commanders’ offense in the NFL’s first “Thursday Night Football” game of the season, going on to win the bruising matchup 27-18. Green Bay combined for 404 yards, while Washington totaled just 230 yards in a game that left each side with injuries.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love had a great showing, racking up 292 yards and two touchdowns, including a pass to Romeo Doubs that opened the scoring with four and a half minutes left in the first quarter. Running back Josh Jacobs also recorded 84 rushing yards and a touchdown that made him the first Packer to score a rushing touchdown in 10 consecutive games.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels finished the first half with just 49 passing yards, which he boosted to 200 by the end of the game.
Both teams lost key players to injury during the first half.
Jayden Reed, a standout receiver for the Packers who had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions last week, left the contest less than five minutes into the first quarter. The team later ruled out Reed, 25, with a shoulder injury after he struggled to walk down the Lambeau Field tunnel while clutching his collarbone. Coach Matt LaFleur said postgame Reed fractured his collarbone and is headed to the IR. He is out for the foreseeable future, but the team expects him to return some point this season.
Commanders defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. was carted off the field in the second quarter with a quad injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game. Wise’s injury occurred during an extra-point attempt following the Packers’ second touchdown. Packers tackle Anthony Belton fell back on Wise’s right leg during the play, and the entire Commanders bench gathered around the 31-year-old as he left the field.
Veteran Commanders running back Austin Ekeler also left the game with five and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter following a non-contact injury. Medical staff assisted him to the sideline as he hopped to the bench on one foot. He was carted back to the locker room and ruled out with an Achilles injury.
Washington never got its running game going, with rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Ekeler and Daniels combining for 51 yards.
Green Bay held onto a double-digit lead throughout the first half. The score gap closed briefly after Daniels made a 20-yard pass to Zach Ertz for the Commanders’ first TD of the night, but Love extended the Packers’ lead on the next drive, hitting tight end Tucker Kraft in the end zone with an 8-yard pass.
Daniels connected with free-agency acquisition Deebo Samuel for a 10-yard touchdown with under four minutes left in the game. The Commanders successfully made a two-point conversion after the play, with Daniels firing a quick shot to Luke McCaffrey in the back of the end zone.
Brandon McManus, the Packers’ 12th-year kicker, missed his first try of the game when his kick hit the left upright, but he rebounded to make his next two field-goal attempts, one from 22 yards out and another from 56 yards. Commanders kicker Matt Gay likewise made two of his three field-goal attempts.
Kraft comes up big
Consider Thursday night Kraft’s coming out party. The third-year tight end had a semi-breakout season in 2024 but turned in the best game of his career against the Commanders to the tune of six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. According to the Amazon Prime broadcast, Kraft’s receiving yards were the most by a Packers tight end since Richard Rodgers in 2015. On Kraft’s crucial touchdown catch to put the Packers up 14 with less than nine minutes remaining, Kraft perfectly sold the block before releasing into the end zone, where Love found him wide open. It’s nights like these that show why Kraft can be one of the NFL’s best tight ends this season.
Parsons delivers yet again
For the second consecutive game to start his Packers career, Micah Parsons’ influence could be felt beyond just the box score. Parsons only had two tackles and half a sack to go along with three quarterback hits, but he’s even more of a difference-maker on the field. He drew a hands-to-the-face penalty on right guard Nick Allegretti to force a third-and-17 that preceded a punt, drew a false start on left tackle Laremy Tunsil before chasing down a dump-off on second down and pressuring Daniels into an incompletion on third down.
In the second half, Parsons drew a hold on right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. but still shared a sack of Daniels with linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and later split Conerly and running back Jeremy McNichols to pressure Daniels into a 1-yard scramble. So far, he’s been worth every penny of the record-breaking $188 million deal he signed with the Packers.
Packers secondary holds strong
Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon told The Athletic before the season that he sees all the negative things fans say about him, and there have seemed to be a lot in recent years. Still, the Packers entrusted him as their No. 1 cornerback after the release of Jaire Alexander, and Nixon showed why on Thursday. Nixon had never broken up more than two passes in a game since entering the league in 2019 — he didn’t become a full-time defensive player until 2023 — until he broke up five against the Commanders.
— Matt Schneidman in Green Bay
Commanders offense sputters
The Commanders haven’t looked this bad since at least 2023. Maybe earlier. The offense couldn’t generate much of anything against the Packers’ front, which dominated with its speed and power. The right side of Washington’s offensive line, with Conerly Jr., a rookie, and Allegretti, struggled the most, leaving Daniels under duress for much of the game.
Making matters worse, Washington’s receivers couldn’t get open, and in critical stretches, including a fourth-and-4 in the fourth quarter, Terry McLaurin was oddly not on the field. It’s baffling that the score was as close as it was for much of the game.
The Commanders’ defense was worse, allowing the Packers to pick apart the middle of the field. There were busted coverages, missed tackles and costly penalties (two holding calls on cornerback Marshon Lattimore).
Injuries piled up for Washington. The team later lost star blocking tight end John Bates and receiver Noah Brown to groin injuries. It was without rookie cornerback Trey Amos and left guard Brandon Coleman for stretches because of shoulder injuries, though both later returned. With Bates, Brown, Ekeler and Wise all going down, Washington lost four starters to injuries. Brutal.
If there were bright spots for the Commanders, they were their punt and kickoff teams. They gave Washington good field position, but the offense couldn’t do anything with it. Samuel returned two kicks for 78 total yards, and rookie Jaylin Lane picked up 50 yards on three punt returns. In coverage, safeties Percy Butler, Jeremy Reaves and Tyler Owens all made big stops to pin the Packers deep in their own territory.
— Nicki Jhabvala in Green Bay
(Photo of Packers’ Rashan Gary and Devonte Wyatt tackling Commanders’ Jayden Daniels: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
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